Sweden’s new foreign minister has ditched its pioneering “feminist foreign policy”, saying the label has become more important than its content. But Tobias Billstrom said “we will always stand for gender equality”.
The previous left-wing government launched the policy in 2014, becoming the first in the world to put gender equality at the heart of its dealings with other nations.
The self-labelled “feminist government” had ruffled feathers globally.
Mr Billstrom announced the radical policy shift moments after Swedish Prime Minister, Ulf Kristerrson, presented his new government appointments on Tuesday.
“Gender equality is a core value for Sweden and this government, but we will not conduct a feminist foreign policy,” he said. “Because labels on things have a tendency to cover up the content”, he said.
The online web page for the government’s former policy was no longer available.
A former foreign minister, Margot Wallstrom, launched the policy emphasising the importance of the three ‘R’s: “rights, representation and resources”.
Credit: bbc.com
